Italian coalition talks continue as 5-Star looks left and right

Five-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio (C), accompanied by party colleagues Giulia Grillo (R) and Danilo Toninelli (L), leaves the Quirinal palace after a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella during the first round of formal political consultations following the general elections, in Rome, Italy, 05 April 2018. [EPA-EFE/ETTORE FERRARI]

Talks aimed at resolving Italy’s political stalemate failed to break the deadlock and a new round of consultations will be held next week, President Sergio Mattarella said on Thursday (5 April).

The head of state, who is tasked with overcoming the government impasse, met all the main party leaders over the past two days of consultations to hear their suggestions on how to respond to last month’s inconclusive national election.

“According to the rules of our democracy, it is necessary that there be some accords between different political forces to form a coalition,” Mattarella said.

“During these two days of consultations, this condition has not yet emerged,” he told reporters, adding: “I’ll let a few days of reflection pass also because of the need for more time that many political forces asked for during the consultations.”

Senior members of Italy’s vanquished Democratic Party yesterday (6 March) eyed a possible deal with the triumphant 5-Star Movement (M5S), following an election that left the country with a hung parliament and anti-establishment and far-right parties vying to form a government.

German-style coalition

Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement wants to forge a German-style governing contract with either the far-right League or the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio reiterated on Thursday.

“We don’t propose a government alliance, but we propose a government contract to change Italy,” he told reporters after meeting President Sergio Mattarella, who is seeking to resolve the deadlock caused by last month’s inconclusive election.

Di Maio said he wanted to meet the heads of the League and PD as soon as possible to discuss policy ideas, but again appeared to rule out the possibility of striking a deal with the League’s centre-right ally, Forza Italia (Go Italy!).

Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the largest party in parliament after this month’s election, should try to form a government with its far-right rivals the League, two of its senior politicians said on Tuesday (27 March).